<p>I'm realizing more and more that I haven't looked too hard for colleges outside my familiarity; most of the schools on my list are ones that my sister applied to, so I already knew a lot about them before beginning my own college search. I've tried online searches (like SuperMatch), but they haven't been too helpful. So I was wondering if you could give some suggestions. Two schools that I do really like are Northeastern University and George Washington University.</p>
<p>about me:
- 4.0 unweighted GPA
- will have taken 7 APs by graduation (all 5's on ones I have taken)
- 35 ACT (34 science, 35 reading, 34 math, 35 writing)
- SAT II: 750 biology, 740 math 2
- extracurriculars: pretty standard (varsity track/cross country, participation in clubs, ect)
- 120+ hours of community service; started a running program at a local B&G club (volunteering)
- recommendations and essays will be great</p>
<p>what I'm looking for in a school:
- urban campus (must have)
- reputable science program (bio or public health major)
- medium sized or larger (maybe 5,000+)
- liberal(ish) - will go to a school in the south, provided there is diversity in political opinions
- opportunities for research/internships</p>
<p>Also as an aside, I know financials are very important, but don't use this as a factor for suggestions. I'll do my own research on COA; the purpose of this post is just to generate more ideas of schools that will fit my criteria.</p>
<p>Preferably, the rigor of academics and prestige of the school would be about that of NEU or GW. Thanks so much for the help! And if you need more information, just ask.</p>
<p>An important thing to keep in mind is that almost every campus in US is politically liberal. Colleges that are known for being “conservative” are actually, by US standards, fairly moderate. College students in general are fairly open-minded so there will be ideological diversity wherever you go.</p>
<p>I’d recommend</p>
<ul>
<li>Johns Hopkins: great bio, science, in Baltimore, may be on the bigger side for you</li>
<li>Rice University: in Houston, very well regarded in sciences, 6.6k students</li>
<li>WashU: great for sciences, STL</li>
<li>Carnegie Mellon</li>
<li>Tulane: In New Orleans, a fairly liberal city for being in the South, pretty large</li>
<li>Case Western</li>
<li>Tufts</li>
</ul>
<p>May I ask why you want a medium/larger school?
Also, as of now, what are your post-graduation plans? Do you intend on going to grad school?</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>It really needs to be a factor we should know about. There is no point in considering a school that is simply not affordable. At the very least, run the net price calculators on our recommendation’s websites and tell us if they are affordable or not.</p>
<p>I (eventually) plan on going to grad school, but I’m not sure if I’ll be able to afford it immediately upon obtaining my bachelors (might have to work a few years).</p>
<p>What I meant by the financial affordability is I don’t want that to be a limiting factor in what people suggest; aka not recommend a school that would be an otherwise great fit because of a high COA without finaid. I know how to use NPCs and do so for every school while doing preliminary research. </p>
<p>Although a lot of the schools you suggested are $60k a year, affordability for my family is really varying. For example, JHU and Case Western are borderline affordable (would depend on the real financial aid package), but Tufts definitely would be fine. </p>
<p>Emory is a suburban campus about five miles from downtown Atlanta and literally across the street from the CDC headauarters. Slightly under 7000 undergrads at the main campus, and a fairly liberal school. The financial aid is generally stronger than Tufts.</p>
<p>The University of Miami also seems to fit most of your desires, other than an urban campus (Coral Gables is a suburb of Miami).</p>
<p>Drexel and St. Louis University also satisfy most of your criteria.</p>
<p>Depending on how great your financial need is, the Ohio State University may be worth considering. Quasi urban campus with some merit aid, and a plethora of political opinions. Larger bio classes than any of the schools I’ve mentioned to this point.</p>
<p>I wouldn’t necessarily exclude a school based on urban location. Many college towns are havens for cultural activity and diversity of opinions. I live in a smaller college town right now and strongly believe that it offers far more for the 18-25 crowd than many cities seven times its size. </p>
<p>Some other ideas:
Northwestern Univ: lower acceptance rate, but right outside of Chicago, medium size (~8,000), and very reputable programs. Internship opportunities here are amazing–you can take internship for college credit and work in Chicago for several days a week, or do undergraduate research as early as freshman year.</p>
<p>University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: this isn’t as urban, but has great access to Durham (ultra-liberal and relaxed, up and coming), Raleigh, and of course the university town of Chapel Hill. very liberal area.</p>
<p>NYU: about as urban as you can get, with pretty good science programs. Again, being in a large city, there are more options for internships.</p>
<p>Washington University of St. Louis: Urban, good med/sci programs</p>
<p>Drexel is the one that comes to my mind as being most similar, although it doesn’t have any campus-y feel at all. They have a public health program and are very well regarded in the Philadelphia area generally, and the health sciences specifically. </p>